Pooler Grind Steel Down

My first live game of rugby for over a month took me to Tata Steel in Port Talbot. The remnants of Storm Hannah had left a blustery but sunny day with a strong breeze blowing off the sea down the pitch. Pontypool were defending their unbeaten record, Tata Steel sitting comfortably mid-table were playing their last home game of the season with nothing to lose. Another tricky hurdle for Pooler as they pick their way towards the all-important play-off for potential promotion.

Pontypool played against the wind in the first half and as per common practice in these conditions needed to dominate possession and be sure to stay in touch on the scoreboard. For the first twenty minutes they managed to do just that. The frustration was that despite excellent field position and a series of short range lineouts and scrums they were unable to register any points. To make matters worse when Tata Steel got a foothold in the Pontypool half , outside half Rogers danced like Anton du Beke as he jinked, sidestepped and sashayed through a bemused Pooler defence to score a brilliant solo try. Sadly for him it was not a “seven” as the conversion failed. Against the run of play the home side were in the lead at 5-0.

Pontypool needed to respond. A dust-up following a ruck led to yellow cards for Pooler hooker Hughes and Tata No 8 Griggs. With both sides shorthanded, it was Pooler who seemed to prosper. They seized control of the game and a dropped goal by Meek was followed by short range tries by Quick and Nash as Pooler’s forward power began to tell. Both tries were wide out and with the adverse wind it was virtually impossible to kick a conversion. Nevertheless at halftime Pontypool were leading 5-13 and must have been reasonable satisfied with their work.

With the strong wind now at their backs Pontypool looked set to dominate proceedings in the second half. They were soon on the offensive and from another powerful forward surge Nash bagged his second try. This time the conversion from Meek sailed over and the lead had grown to 5-20.

Tata Steel had clearly decided at half time that they would run the ball at every opportunity. They had some talented backs and the Pooler defence was left flatfooted at times. Griggs closed the gap by scoring under the posts after an excellent passage of play by Tata who broke out from their own half (12-20).

Pontypool responded with more forward power. A great run by prop Seward established a position deep in the home twenty two and Nash completed his hat trick from short range. This try was unconverted which left the score at 12-25.

As we went into the final quarter, Tata Steel continued to throw caution to the wind as they threw the ball about with gay abandon. A speculative long pass in the windy conditions led to an interception by Pontypool debutant Marcus Jones who galloped under the posts. Pontypool were surely home and dry at 12-32.

Injuries had left the Pontypool backline looking distinctly uncoordinated and vulnerable with substitutes playing in unfamiliar positions. Tata Steel continued to run the ball and shocked Pontypool with two tries in as many minutes as their backs ran riot. The tries by Brooks and Llewellyn were both converted and the home side sensed an upset as the gap was reduced to a single score at 26-32. All the momentum was with Tata and moments later they were nearly through the defence again only for the critical pass to go astray.

Pontypool needed to regain their poise and a penalty allowed them to do just that. The kick from Lewis put them deep in the Tata twenty two and yet again the Pooler forward power came up trumps. This time it was Seward who powered over and the conversion from Lewis opened up a decisive thirteen point lead at 26-39 with a few minutes remaining.

There was just time for a cameo performance for coach Leighton Jones who rolled back the years as time ran out. Pontypool had been given an almighty scare but had kept their run going. Final score Tata Steel 26 Pontypool 39.

Not the most commanding of performances from Pontypool against spirited opposition. The forwards did their work effectively but a backline beset by injuries and rejigged a number of times found life difficult against the lively Tata backs. Congratulations to Jamie Jeune on his 250^th appearance for the club.

Pontypool have now accumulated 96 points in the Championship with two home games against Rhydyfelin and Trebanos remaining. Bedlinog, Newcastle Emlyn, Newbridge and Rhydyfelin will be relegated from the Championship. Let us hope our old friends and rivals at Newbridge can bounce back.

It is still very much in the balance as to who Pontypool will play in the promotion play-off. Both Bridgend and Bedwas had good wins yesterday with Llanelli not playing.  If I were the betting kind (and thank the Lord I’m not sir), my money would be on Bedwas to be relegated, Bridgend safe and Llanelli in the play-off.

Did my eyes deceive me or did I see that the WRU was putting forward yet another new competition were the top six sides in the Premiership would play the top six sides in Scotland. If the clubs are cash strapped this seems like financial madness. Why don’t the WRU do the sensible thing and settle on a Premiership of fourteen or even sixteen clubs? We all know that a league of twelve is too small to fill an eight month season.

I didn’t catch any of Judgement Day but I understand the Dragons finally came good and thwarted the Scarlets’ European ambitions. In the other match the Ospreys edged out the Cardiff Blues. I have to confess that with the lack of free TV coverage I have not really kept abreast of regional rugby this season. Strangely I do not seem to have missed it.

Pontypool play Rhydyfelyn under lights at Pontypool Park on Wednesday evening. I am looking forward to a good performance as Pooler build up towards the big one.

Come on Pooler!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

It has been agony, I have missed four, yes four, Pooler matches in as many weeks. All down to bad planning as I mistakenly thought that there wouldn’t be so much Championship rugby in April. I have been in Asia for a couple of weeks or so and collected a dicky stomach somewhere along the way which prevented me venturing too far from the bathroom on my return. I of course maintained a watching brief and was delighted to see that Pooler continued their winning ways in the Championship and have already clinched the title with matches to spare My good friend Steve Parfitt gave me his own inimitable verdict on the matches and that coupled with the official match reports gave a really good impression on the matches. 

For the record, the outcomes of the three league matches that I missed were: a nailbiting bonus point win in a points spree at Cardiff Met (40-41), a fairly comfortable if unconvincing home bonus point victory against Bedlinog (38-21) and a week later another narrow victory this time at Bedlinog (16-19).  All this means that Pontypool now have accumulated 91 points with three matches to play, second placed Narberth are on 72 points with only one match remaining. A third Championship title in three years and a run of 44 undefeated league games. This is pretty special stuff! Congratulations to all at the club.

Then there was the tremendous run in the National Cup and I was devastated to miss the semi-final against mighty Merthyr at Ebbw Vale. Pontypool obviously put up a great show against the strongest club side in Wales and with a bit of luck could even have taken the spoils. As it was, Pooler lost 18-20 and left the field with their heads held high having given the favourites a torrid afternoon. Pooler fans were surely proud, happy and disappointed at the same time but it yet again demonstrates that the club is more than capable of competing at Premiership level. Well done Pooler!

Pontypool are left with two objectives for the season: to win their remaining three league games and then to try and earn a place in the slimmed down twelve team Premiership through the play off against the fifth from bottom side. The latter I am sure is the key objective and is what the club has been working towards for so long. The big question is who will be the opposition? Three of the four automatic relegation places have already been decided with Neath, Bargoed and Cross Keys already condemned. This now leaves Bedwas, Bridgend and Llanelli scrapping to decide who goes down, who stays up and who goes into the play off. The current state of play is:

Position           Club                            Played             Points

11^th                  Llanelli                          29                    58

12^th                  Bedwas                        28                    52

13^th                  Bridgend                       26                    50

Llanelli’s only remaining game is home to Neath so they would anticipate ending up on 63 points which would mean that they would definitely avoid automatic relegation.

Bedwas have to play Aberavon away and Swansea at home. Neither are easy fixtures although Aberavon and Swansea have little to play for but pride. Bedwas would do well to get eight points to end on 60 - athough 62 is of course possible.

Bridgend have four games remaining: Bargoed away, Cross Keys at home, Aberavon away and Pontypridd away. They would hope to get two wins against the already relegated Bargoed and Cross Keys although winning at Bargoed is never easy. Finishing with two away local derbys is also pretty demanding. A haul for Bridgend of 13 points out of the 20 available would see Bedwas relegated. If they manage 14 points or more they would be safe and Llanelli would be in the play off provided they beat Neath. Less than 13 points and who knows.

Aargh! My brain hurts! It is going down to the wire that is for sure and let us hope the outcome is not influenced too much by the release of regional players to strengthen the club sides.

No matter what the final outcome Pontypool will face a daunting challenge that is for certain. In the meantime, Pontypool have an away fixture at Tata Steel on Saturday and I am looking forward to being there.

I was also really delighted to hear the positive news about the future of Pontypool Park. Rugby wouldn’t be the same without it.

Come on Pooler!